Bangor-on-Dee betting with William Hill

Bangor-on-Dee is based near Wrexham in North Wales and stages National Hunt racing throughout the year. The big Bangor-on-Dee betting race is the Anne Duchess of Westminster Memorial Handicap Chase.

Notable past Bangor winners include Cheltenham Gold Cup victors Norton’s Coin and Denman, alongside several winners of the Aintree Grand National.

William Hill promotions include the latest special offers, daily price boosts and the best Bangor-on-Dee odds.

Betting at Bangor-on-Dee – The Big Meetings

The most valuable race day at Bangor-on-Dee is the Anne Duchess of Westminster Charity Day in November. There are always plenty of Bangor-on-Dee tips for the Anne Duchess of Westminster Memorial Handicap Chase.

The supporting card includes a Listed mares’ novices’ chase and a valuable handicap hurdle over 2m3f.

The course stages a family fun day in May, ahead of the summer meeting in early June. The course also provides free entertainment and there’s a well-attended Ladies’ Day in early August.

There’s also a Countryside Day in early October and Halloween and Christmas meetings. Bangor-on-Dee promotes itself as a grass roots jumping course which is welcoming for a relaxed family outing.

Bangor-on-Dee Betting – The Big Races

The first Anne Duchess of Westminster Charity Day was created in 2005. The trustees of the charity of the owner of the great Arkle arranged for a memorial race in her honour to be held during November. The feature race is a 3m handicap chase.

The mares’ novices’ chase on the same card was the first listed race ever to be staged at Bangor-on-Dee in 2016. Victory went to Stephanie Frances, a strong Bangor-on-Dee betting tip for Dan and Harry Skelton.

Bangor-on-Dee Betting Tips

Donald McCain Jnr is the trainer to follow for your Bangor-on-Dee tips. He has a formidable record here in recent seasons, particularly with his runners over hurdles.

Alan King also does well with his runners over the smaller obstacles, maintaining a very good strike rate. Dan Skelton often features in Bangor-on-Dee bets and Lucinda Russell is worth noting when she sends chasers down from Scotland.

Will Kennedy and Harry Skelton are the jockeys to note for your Bangor-on-Dee betting tips. Champion jockey Richard Johnson and Wayne Hutchinson also do extremely well here in hurdles races.

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Bangor-on-Dee Course Characteristics

Bangor-on-Dee, near Wrexham is a sharp, left-handed track and the runners are always on the turn.

The ground is mostly flat, but can ride very fast here during the summer months. The fences are considered fair without being particularly daunting. Bangor suits quick, accurate jumpers and is well supported by some of the leading stables.

You should look for horses who like to race up with the pace for your Bangor-on-Dee bets. Ex-flat racers are suited by the turning track more than long-striding animals.

Famous Bangor-on-Dee Races and Racehorses

The biggest shock in Cheltenham Gold Cup history was the victory of 100/1 shot Norton’s Coin in 1990. He was owned and trained by Welsh dairy farmer Sirrell Griffiths and won the Llangollen Handicap Chase here in 1989.

He featured in many Bangor tips that day and those who kept faith with him at Cheltenham will never forget his famous victory.

Mr Mulligan was another Gold Cup winner to win here, taking a novices’ chase by 30 lengths in 1995. He won at Cheltenham at 20/1 under Tony McCoy two years later.

Denman provided one of the shortest Bangor-on-Dee odds returns in history when winning at 1/12 in 2006. He went on to win the 2008 Gold Cup and won the Hennessy Gold Cup in 2007 and 2009.

Amberleigh House won here in 2002 for Donald ‘Ginger’ McCain, the trainer of Red Rum. He went on to score an emotional win in the 2004 Grand National, 27 years after Red Rum’s record third victory.

Ballabriggs was trained by Donald McCain Jnr and won a Beginners’ Chase here in 2007. He improved dramatically from a handicap rating of 115 to win the 2011 Grand National off a mark of 150. Ballabriggs finished sixth in 2012 and was retired after being pulled up the following year.

Comply Or Die also provided his trainer with a memorable Aintree victory to emulate the achievements of his father. David Pipe’s gelding was a very strong Bangor tip for a Beginners’ Chase in 2004 and would go on to win the 2008 Grand National, ridden by Timmy Murphy on both occasions.

Pipe’s father Martin had won the Grand National with Miinnehoma in 1994.

Other notable Bangor winners include 1995 Hennessy winner Couldn’t Be Better and 2007 Arkle Chase winner My Way De Solzen. Couldn’t Be Better was a popular Bangor-on-Dee bet when winning a handicap chase for trainer Charlie Brooks and jockey Graham Bradley in 1994. My Way De Solzen won a novices’ hurdle here in 2004 for Alan King and Robert Thornton.

Anzum made his debut over hurdles at Bangor, winning by nine lengths in 1994. He would provide one of the biggest shocks in the history of the Stayers’ Hurdle when winning at 40/1 in 1999.

2004 Stayers’ Hurdle winner Iris’s Gift won a novices’ chase at Bangor-on-Dee in 2005, but never quite fulfilled his potential over fences.

Bangor-on-Dee Horse Racing History

Racing first took place here in February 1859. The main Bangor-on-Dee betting race on the opening day was the Wynnstay Steeplechase won by a six-year-old called Charley.

In 1868 the legendary Fred Archer rode a winner at Bangor in a race for ponies under 14 hands. He won on Maid Of Trent at the age of 12 and weighing in at just 4st 11lbs. It was his first win under rules.

Archer would go on to ride 2,748 winners. Jockey Fred Hassell dominated the Bangor betting when he rode five winners in one day here in 1889.

In 1887 Gamecock won the Aintree Grand National after previously winning at Bangor races. His achievement was repeated by Cloister in the 1893 Grand National, carrying 12st 7lbs.

Wild Man From Borneo (1895) became the third horse in eight years to go on from Bangor to Aintree glory.

When racing resumed after the Second World War, Bangor welcomed a record crowd of 11,000. Jockey and thriller writer Dick Francis had his first ever ride at Bangor-on-Dee in 1947. Although unplaced, he returned to Bangor to get off the mark aboard Wrenbury Tiger later that season.

Amateur point-to-point meetings were first held here in 2006, racing in the opposite direction on the inside of the racecourse.

The course is now owned by the Chester Race Company. Bangor-on-Dee, which celebrated its 160th anniversary in February 2019, is the only course in the UK that does not have a grandstand.

Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse - How to get there

Bangor-on-Dee is only 25 miles from the city of Chester. Racegoers arriving by road should look for signs to the track on the A483 southbound.

If arriving from the South or from the Midlands, approach via the M6 and M54 (junction 3) and then take the A41 to Whitchurch and A525 for Wrexham.

Wrexham General is the nearest railway station to the racecourse, with a free bus service operating on all race days. The bus departs 90 minutes before the first race.